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About EYE GUY

BAND MEMBERS BAND HISTORY


 

Band Members

Eye Guy. Rarely has there been a band with a more diverse assortment of personalities and musical backgrounds. This wide spectrum of interests, talents, and influences which each member brings to the band makes for a varied musical experience indeed.

Ben Levy would at first appear to be an unlikely candidate for a lead vocalist. Normally a relatively soft-spoken young man, Mr. Levy shocked an audience of his peers at Eye Guy's first gig when he began hurling out words at the top of his lungs. His trademark spoken style and the band's unconventional lyrics are Eye Guy's most distinguishing characteristics.

One fateful evening several years ago, a bright blue electric guitar appeared mysteriously in Charlie Sutherland's house. Charlie has had extensive musical training in both classical and jazz music, although as far as the bright blue guitar is concerned that's pretty much irrelevant since the training was all on the piano. Still, all those lessons help him compose lots of Eye Guy's music.

Ben Jenkins started out playing bass in a jazz band, but then quit when he realized he didn't really like playing jazz that much. At first reluctant to join Eye Guy, Jenkins finally gave in. His playing and his magnetic personality and sense of humor contribute greatly to the band's quirky songs. On stage, he projects an aura of focused concentration mixed with deadpan nonchalance which must be seen to be believed.

Eye Guy's textured beats are all created by Nick Collins, who also has a good deal of jazz experience behind him. Nick's playing ranges from irresistibly funky to danceably rocky to diabolically primal. His versatile percussive presence has an immeasurably large impact on every song.


 

Band History

The bands' origins date back to early 1995, although Ben Levy and Charlie had been collaborating on various musical endeavors for a year and a half prior to this time. The original concept was to perform only Devo covers, and after a brief period of chaos Nick and Ben Jenkins rounded out the lineup. (Eye Guy chose its name after an unfortunate incident which occurred when Ben Levy visited his ophthalmologist one day.)

The Devo idea quickly faded as original material weaseled its way into the repertoire. While Devo continued to have a strong influence over Eye Guy's early songs, the band also incorporated funky vies from other bands from the New Wave era. The patented Eye Guy style of "fragmented" rock (piece wise song composition utilizing unrelated grooves juxtaposed against one another) was born.

Progress during the first year and a half of the band's development was relatively slow. The culmination of this early period came on June thirteenth, 1996, when the band played a twenty-five minute set at an outdoor music festival on the same stage which Janis Joplin, the MC5, and the Grateful Dead had graced in days of yore. Having finally achieved a public debut, the band when home and napped for a few months.

By the end of that summer, Eye Guy decided that they could wait no longer for fame: they would record an album. This decision came at a rather inconvenient time, as Charlie was to leave for school out east in a matter of days. The plans were postponed until winter break, when Charlie would return home.

December finally rolled around, and Eye Guy marched into Ben Levy's basement and launched into a rehearsal frenzy. (Regrettable, his family and dog were driven insane around this arduous time.) Two weeks later, they emerged. Armed with new songs and a new sound, Eye Guy was ready for the studio.



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